The Monastery of Saint Jacob the Mutilated

The Monastery of Saint Jacob the Mutilated rises atop a hill overlooking the town of Qara, bearing architectural layers from the Roman and Byzantine periods through to a modern revival that began in 1995, led by Catholic nuns who restored vitality to a complex on the verge of collapse. Inside the ancient church, a semi-cylindrical vault is adorned with Byzantine frescoes depicting archangels, while a stairway carved into the rock descends to a crypt that once sheltered monks during times of invasion.